Hey readers : ) I know, I know - it's been a while. To be honest, I kinda stopped watching NCIS after most of my favourite characters left the show, and I didn't really have much desire to get back into it, but then I just randomly decided to watch some of the older episodes, and boom - I got the inspiration needed to write up new chapter : ) Hopefully I can keep the motivation going so I can get this story up and running properly again : )

Thank you so much to everyone that has stuck with this story for so long, and particularly thank you to those of you that have reviewed this story. I really enjoy reading them so please keep them coming : )

Beyond that, please remember that NCIS is not owned by me.

I hope you enjoy this chapter : )

Kill Ari - Part 5

Ducky swallowed hard as he bravely continued to place one foot in front of the other, whilst further down the road, Gerald continued to do the same. It was a bizarre feeling for the medical examiner, to be walking head on to what most likely would be his own death, yet he felt an odd sense of calm.

After all, as endings came about, this one would be one he'd be reasonably content, if not happy with.

Giving his life to save a friend.

Ducky wouldn't have it any other way. He was afraid, good god was he afraid, but he just knew that if he didn't make this sacrifice, and Gerald paid the price of that action, Ducky would never be able to survive the guilt.

"You shouldn't have come, Doctor" Gerald whispered solemnly as the two men drew closer together.

"Couldn't let the bastard put a bullet in your good shoulder" Ducky shook his head, surprised at how level he managed to keep his voice, "Or you'd never return to work. Do you have your cell phone?"

"Ari took it" Gerald regretfully informed him.

"Keep walking" Ducky instructed the younger man, still slowly making his way down the road, "Don't turn back until you're behind the wheel. Where is Ari?"

"In the back seat" Gerald said as the two men drew level with each other.

Gerald looked Ducky in the eye, silently pleading with his friend to turn back, to run, to save himself, but Ducky just gave him a small albeit strained smile and gently shook his head.

He was going to die with honour, not fleeing like a coward.

"When I reach your car, I'll lean in through the open window" Ducky said as the two friends passed each other, "That's your cue to drive off, fast!"

"Doctor Mallard..." Gerald pleaded, looking back over his shoulder.

"Go straight to NCIS" Ducky instructed him firmly, determined to go through with this despite how afraid he was, "Tell Gibbs everything that's happened".

Gerald swallowed hard, realising he wasn't going to be able to talk Ducky out of this awful choice he'd made, before reluctantly nodding to himself.

He just prayed that Gibbs would be able to do something about this terrible situation.

Preferably before Ducky ended up on his own Autopsy Table.

Kate bit her lip anxiously as she stood between Gibbs and Abby in the squad room at NCIS. The three of them were gathered around the phone on Gibbs's desk as Gibbs furiously punched in the number to Ducky's cell phone.

Despite the fact that her boss wasn't one for really expressing himself - beyond whenever something pissed him off that was - Kate could tell just how worried Gibbs was about his friend. It was the same horrible worry that was bubbling away in the pit of Kate's stomach right now too.

God, she hoped Ducky was alright.

The consequences if otherwise didn't bare thinking about.

"You've reached Doctor Donald Mallard" a recording of Ducky's voice played, and Kate felt her shoulders slump dejectedly, "Please leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can".

There was a soft beep.

Kate continued biting her lip nervously. She had been hoping that Ducky would answer. He might have received an angry lecture from Gibbs for leaving without permission, but at least they'd know he was alive and well.

As things stood, they knew neither of those things.

Judging by the looks on Gibbs' and Abby's faces, they were thinking along similar lines as well.

"I said no one was to leave the building!" Gibbs barked angrily into the phone.

"Ducky - you need to call us back right now, okay" Kate said in a voice that didn't invite any argument, "And I mean like in thirty seconds, a minute tops - Ari's still out there and we all know just how dangerous he is, especially to us".

"Kate's right Ducky, please call, okay?" Abby pleaded into the phone as well, "We're all really worried..."

"NO ONE INCLUDES YOU, DOCTOR MALLARD!" Gibbs bellowed, cutting Abby off in the process.

"We're all worried, including Gibbs..." Abby continued anxiously, "Or he wouldn't be yelling".

Kate opened her mouth to say more, but the sound of a second beep cut her off, signalling that the message had ended. An exhausted sigh slipped her lips. Hopefully Ducky would get their message and call them back.

There was no reason to assume the worst after all, Kate tried to reassure herself. Until proved otherwise, they all had to hold out hope that Ducky was fine.

A sinking feeling in her stomach however, told her that was unlikely to be the case.

"Look Gibbs, it's not Ducky's fault, okay?" Abby tried to reason with their boss, who was still glaring at the phone and breathing like a charging bull, "He probably just did some of his paperwork on auto pilot and then just drove himself home".

"Abby's right Gibbs" Kate chimed in, prompting them both to turn to her, "We have absolutely no proof that something's happened to Ducky. Let's not jump to the worst conclusion, yeah?"

"Worst conclusion, Special Agent Todd?" Gibbs repeated in annoyance, "There's a raving lunatic out there on the loose and he's trying to kill my people - you and everyone else on my team - or had you forgotten that?!"

Kate's eyes narrowed into a furious glare.

"No, I haven't forgotten thank you very much" she scowled, eyes burning, gesturing angrily at the graze on her temple, "I haven't forgotten that I nearly took a bullet in the head earlier today and that it's thanks to pure random chance that I didn't. I haven't forgotten that it was Ari that fired at me. I haven't forgotten any of that. So do not question if I'm taking the threat posed by Ari seriously Gibbs. Don't even go there".

Gibbs met her glare head on for a moment, before looking away and dipping his head in acknowledgement.

An uncomfortable silence fell between them.

Thankfully McGee, who had been sitting at his desk working his special brand of magic and had witnessed the entire exchange, broke the moment before the sudden tension had a chance to grow any thicker.

"Boss! An outside call came into autopsy twenty three minutes ago" he announced, causing Gibbs', Abby's and Kate's heads to all snap over to him, "I'm tracing the number!"

Kate crossed her fingers, praying that McGee would be able to give them a location.

They had to find Ducky before it was too late.

They just had too.

Gerald scrambled into Ducky's car as soon as he reached the old vintage Morgan, but was shocked to see no steering wheel. Looking over at what should have been the passenger's seat, there was the wheel.

Gerald rolled his eyes.

He'd forgotten that British cars were the opposite to American ones. Jumping back out of the Morgan, Gerald hurried around to the other side of the car and climbed in, now behind the wheel where he needed to be.

He had to get to NCIS and more specifically, he had to get to Gibbs.

Ducky's life might just depend on it.

Ducky was only a few steps away now, but he managed to keep his nerve and continued placing one foot in front of the other. The street was so dark that he still couldn't see Ari, but the good doctor had no doubt that the bastard would have a weapon trained on him right at this very moment.

His thoughts turned to his mother, worried about how she'd cope when she learned of his inevitable death. Would she even remember he was gone afterwards? Would she even remember him at all? Who would care for her?

Ducky quickly forced those unpleasant thoughts away. They weren't doing him any good and would potentially weaken his resolve to do this.

Besides, he was the one Ari wanted right now, and Ducky couldn't allow Gerald to pay the price for that simply for being important to him.

He'd never be able to live with the guilt.

A few more steps, and Ducky arrived at Gerald's car. Any second now, and he's life would end, and he'd be wiped away - just like poor Caitlin had almost been wiped away earlier that day.

All thanks to the bastard he could now see sitting before him.

But a few more seconds ticked by, all with no bullet or the sound of gunfire, confusing Ducky immensely. His bewilderment must have shown on his face.

"You look surprised" Ari drily remarked.

"I expected to be shot" Ducky glared at him through the car window, eyes burning with pure loathing.

"Doctor, please" Ari sighed forlornly, almost sounding offended, infuriating Ducky even further, "I would never harm a fellow physician".

"No" Ducky sarcastically retorted, "You just put bullets in their assistants".

Ari chuckled darkly.

"An action I regret immensely, Doctor" the bastard smirked.

"Oh I'm sure" Ducky rolled his eyes, tone disbelieving.

The sound of an engine suddenly roaring to life sounded, and Ducky whipped around in time to see his Morgan lurch forwards a few feet, before the ear-splitting grinding sound of metal on metal shattered the quiet of the night like a cannon-blast.

"Use the clutch!" Ducky yelled across the street to his friend, "Good God, man! Use the clutch!"

The Morgan lurched forwards again, almost hitting another parked car, as Gerald tried - and failed miserably - to drive Ducky's car as he'd been instructed. Behind Ducky, Ari opened the car door and stepped out into the night. Gerald attempted to get the Morgan to co-operate again.

Instead, more grinding was heard, and Ducky cringed.

"You're stripping the gears!" he moaned in despair.

"This is too painful, Doctor" Ari couldn't help but roll his eyes in annoyed disbelief that this was even happening.

After another failed attempt, Ducky had had enough.

"GERALD! TURN IT OFF!" he bellowed, waving his hands frantically to get Gerald to stop.

Behind him, Ari let out a low sigh.

"Obviously Gerald does not have an intimate relationship with a standard transmission" the terrorist remarked, crossing Ducky to roll his eyes.

"Unbelievable" Ducky huffed in annoyance.

"The price of growing up in America" Ari shrugged casually, before reaching back into the backseat of Gerald's car and picking up the bag he'd stored his weapon in, "That was so unnecessary, Doctor. Gerald is free to leave... in his own car".

To emphasize his point, Ari closed the car door, and took a step away from it.

Ducky couldn't help but stare at the man in anger and confusion.

Just what game was the bastard playing this time?

Kate watched as McGee's fingers blurred across his keyboard in a whirl of nervous energy. She had to keep reminding herself that he was going as fast as possible, when all she really wanted to do was yell at him to go faster. Ducky's life could depend on this after all, but taking a deep breath, Kate forced herself to take her own advice.

Until they knew for sure that something was wrong, they shouldn't fly into a panic.

Still, she'd feel much better once they knew Ducky was safe.

Finally, McGee got a hit.

"Boss, that call came from Gerald Jackson's cell phone" he announced.

Kate's eyebrows flew up her forehead in surprise, and judging by the looks on Gibbs' and Abby's faces, they were just as surprised as she was. After all, Gerald had been out of action for months. Most people at NCIS had all-but-forgotten him.

She hadn't though.

Kate still had terrible dreams about that day in Autopsy. The day she'd first met Ari and the day he shot Gerald.

The day this whole nightmare began.

"I'd almost forgot about Gerald" Abby's voice pulled Kate from her musings.

"He's been in rehab for a year" McGee reminded her.

"Yeah, thanks to Ari" Kate grumbled bitterly, "The bastard. Hasn't he already done enough damage to this team?!"

"Apparently not" Gibbs scowled angrily.

"Hey! Maybe Gerald heard about you Kate, and called Ducky" Abby suggested optimistically.

"Heard what about me?" Kate asked her friend, confused.

"About how Ari almost killed you today" Abby elaborated uneasily, before brightening up again, "Yeah, and because of what happened between Ari and Gerald, he would be concerned about you and since Ducky's his closest colleague here at NCIS, Gerald could have called Ducky to talk about it".

"They're in a pub somewhere catching up with each other after Ducky assured Gerald that Kate's okay" McGee added in hopeful agreement.

"Yes!" Abby clapped her hands together.

"I don't like it" Gibbs shook his head, bursting their bubble.

"Me neither" Kate couldn't help but agree with him, "Sorry guys, but Ducky wouldn't ignore a direct order from Gibbs just to have a conversation he could easily have on the phone. Plus, how would Gerald know Ari tried to kill me? There's been no news coverage about what happened today. If I'd died it would be a different story, but as it stands... no, sorry, I'm just not buying that they sitting together in a pub somewhere".

"Then what's your theory?" McGee couldn't help but question.

Kate just shrugged her shoulders silently, an uneasy look on her face, unable to offer a better alternative to their suggestion.

"Gibbs?" Abby looked at her boss hopefully.

"I don't know yet Abs" he shook his head, "But I'm going to find out".

Kate swallowed hard at the expression on the man's face. It was an expression that sent a shiver down her spine every time she saw him wearing it.

An expression that demanded answers, and wouldn't take no for one.

Ari and Ducky walked side by side down the road in the direction of Ducky's Morgan. Ari tried to grip the doctor's arm to keep him under control, but Ducky huffed and shrugged himself free. Ari rolled his eyes but let the minor act of defiance slide. Instead, the terrorist turned him attention back to his captive's car.

"Did you buy it in such pristine condition?" he wondered curiously.

Ducky almost scoffed in disbelief.

Were they really going to be talking about his damn car of all things after everything this bastard had put him and his friends through?

Still, as much as he didn't want too, Ducky knew that he had to play along with Ari's game for now. He had no doubt that the bastard's word that he wouldn't kill him meant nothing. His attempt on young Caitlin's life was a testament to that.

But if Ducky had even a chance at survival tonight, it would be by indulging Ari in his little games long enough for Gibbs to find them.

It couldn't be a moment too soon.

"God, no" Ducky shook his head, sparing Ari a sidelong glance, "The frame had severe termite damage".

"That's right" Ari nodded in realisation, "The Morgan has a wood frame".

"The top was in rags. The body dented. The rocker panels rusted out" Ducky listed off, shaking his head and allowing a small sigh to pass his lips, "It was a disgrace".

"Who did the restoration?" the younger man asked curiously.

"I did" Ducky replied, a hint of pride in his tone.

"Of course you did" Ari couldn't help but chuckle in amusement.

Ducky huffed and glared at the bastard standing next to him, clearly angered by how sarcastic Ari's tone had just been.

"Do you doubt me?" he growled, offended.

"Not at all, Doctor" Ari calmly assured him, a playful smirk on his lips, "I was merely thinking of the irony".

"Irony?" Ducky arched a reluctantly curious eyebrow.

"That hands so skilled at dissecting the dead are also capable of restoring life..." Ari said poetically, before adding as an afterthought, "At least to a machine".

Ducky sighed again, suddenly feeling utterly exhausted, both with the dangerous situation he had found himself in, and the annoying bastard he had the displeasure of sharing it with.

"What do you want, Ari?" Ducky couldn't help but question.

Ari smirked charmingly at the doctor.

"A test drive" was his simple albeit somewhat evasive response.

As the two of them reached the parked Morgan, Ari gestured with his head for Gerald to get out from behind the wheel. The anxious man glanced at Ducky worriedly, but the doctor simply nodded, so Gerald complied. He exited the car and stepped away.

"You're free to go Gerald" Ari told him in a tone that was almost pleasant, "In your own car, that is".

Gerald swallowed hard, glancing at Ducky, who once again just silently nodded. Sighing in defeat, Gerald shuffled off, back in the direction of his own car. Ari and Ducky were both watching him go, when a cell phone began to ring.

Pulling the offending object from his pocket, Ari arched an eyebrow at the I.D displayed on the screen.

"Now who at NCIS could be calling Gerald at this hour? Hmm?" he glanced at Ducky, before he smirked and threw the cell phone as far as he could. It flew threw the air and disappeared somewhere into some bushes on the other side of the street, "Oh well..." Ari continued smugly, whilst Ducky glared at him, "Gerald is sure to arrive there shortly".

Ducky certainly hoped that he would. Gibbs was probably his only hope of survival at this point in the game.

"Doctor?" Ari gestured towards the Morgan, prompting Ducky to reluctantly move towards it, "Oh, and your cell phone. Now buckle up, Doctor. It's a dangerous night".

Fuming, Ducky begrudgingly handed over his cell phone to Ari, before they both climbed into the car, Ari in the driver's seat whilst Ducky was his passenger.

Soon enough, the Morgan was tearing off down the street.

Kate, Abby and McGee were all stood together, each of them furiously calling Ducky's number over and over again, leaving messages and firing off texts - just desperately trying to get in touch with him.

"I just keep getting voice mail" McGee reported with a sigh.

"Well keep trying" Abby urged him.

"He's not replying to any of my texts" Kate frowned, worry threatening to take over now the longer this went on, "I've also been trying Gerald too but it's the same - no response whatsoever".

"Let's not panic" Abby, ever the optimist, reasoned, "If they're playing catch up with each other, they probably turned off their phones so they're not interrupted".

"You really believe that?" Kate looked at her friend anxiously.

Abby swallowed hard, before shaking her head.

"Not really, but a girl's gotta hope" she replied weakly, voice betraying just how worried for Ducky she truly was.

"Still no response Boss" McGee turned to Gibbs for instructions, "Do you want to me to keep leaving messages?"

Gibbs frowned thoughtfully, before shaking his head.

"No. Get a GPS fix on Ducky's cell" he commanded.

McGee returned to his seat behind his desk and started typing into his computer, working on getting a trace on Ducky's cell phone as fast as he possibly could. The junior agent was well aware of just how crucial time was right now.

A single moment could mean life or death.

"Snap it up, McGee!" Gibbs urged him.

McGee started typing even faster than before, and Kate was honestly impressed that had he hadn't broken a finger yet. She just hoped he'd manage to track down Ducky's location soon. The sooner they found out the medical examiner was safe and sound, the easier they'd all breathe.

"Got it!" McGee suddenly exclaimed.

"Where is he McGee?" Kate questioned anxiously.

"Ducky's in Georgetown. Olive and Twenty-ninth" McGee read off his monitor.

"I know that street" Gibbs frowned to himself thoughtfully, "That's mostly residential. Locate Gerald's cell".

Kate stepped around the desk to stand behind McGee, watching over his shoulder as a second icon appeared on the map displayed on his computer screen. It was in close proximity to the first icon, the one representing Ducky's cell phone.

"See!" Abby cheered happily, "They're together. They're okay!"

Neither Gibbs nor Kate were as easily convinced.

"There's no pub there" Gibbs frowned darkly.

"And if they really were okay, surely one of them would have picked up their messages by this time" Kate reasoned, looking very uneasy, "They'd have realised how urgent it was to call us back and would have done so by now. No, I'm telling you, something isn't right here".

Abby wasn't ready to give up hope just yet.

"Well maybe Gerald lives there" she suggested, "And because it's so late, they both put their phones on silent".

"When does Ducky ever put his phone on silent?" Kate retorted.

"And that's a negative on Gerald living out there" McGee chimed in as he checked Gerald's personnel records, "He lives on Peabody".

"Okay... well, maybe they're just parked up and they're talking" Abby reasoned.

"Abby, I don't want to think the worst either, but with everything that's been going on around here lately, don't you think the timing of Ducky going radio silent is a bit too coincidental to ignore?" Kate reluctantly pointed out to her optimistic friend.

Abby scowled, but begrudgingly gave in.

"I guess" she sighed in dismay.

Gibbs meanwhile had stepped over to his own desk and was pulling his weapon out of his drawer, loading it up before strapping it on. A determined scowl was etched into his face.

Clearly, it was time for action.

"Want me to go with you, Boss?" McGee inquired.

"No. Tony's out" Gibbs reminded him firmly, "Stay here with Abby".

McGee nodded and Abby looked relieved, but Kate stepped closer to Gibbs, determination burning away in her eyes.

"I'm going with you" she said in a tone that invited no argument, but when did Leroy Jethro Gibbs ever wait for an invitation.

"Absolutely not" he denied immediately.

"Gibbs..." Kate started to protest but was cut off.

"No Kate" Gibbs shook his head firmly, "Not a chance. We both know that there's a strong chance Ari is behind this, and if you think I'm letting you anywhere near him after he tried to shoot you today, you can think again. You're only alive because of a fluke. Don't push your luck".

Kate, although touched by the concern in Gibbs' tone, steeled herself.

"But don't you see Gibbs - that's exactly why I have to go" she protested passionately, "Ari keeps on coming after me and we both know he isn't going to stop. So I have to make him stop. I don't care what the new director or that Ziva woman says. Ari is as guilty as sin. He needs to be stopped once and for all".

"And I can do that on my own" Gibbs reminded her bluntly.

"Can you?" Kate arched a challenging eyebrow at him.

"Meaning?" Gibbs growled, offended.

Kate took a deep breath as she tried to keep her nerve. Arguing with Gibbs was something she'd neither ever enjoyed or been particularly good at.

"This is a game to him Gibbs" she told him softly, voice pained, "It always has been. And you've let him play it too long. I want it to stop. I want to be the one that stops it".

Gibbs swallowed hard as he looked down into her defiant eyes.

"Besides, it's not like you have much of a choice anyway" Kate remarked offhandedly.

"Excuse me, Special Agent Todd?" Gibbs scoffed in disbelief.

"Like you said, Tony isn't here and McGee's going to have his hands full on protection detail with Abby" Kate pointed out to him, "Remember what happened the last time you had one agent be responsible for protecting two people? It didn't turn out too well".

Gibbs scowled, angry that Kate would bring that up at a time like this. He was also loathed to admit that she actually had a point.

He glared down at her, but Kate just glared back, unwilling to back down.

"Ah hell!" he cursed in annoyance.

Kate smirked triumphantly. She knew that she's won.

"Alright!" Gibbs grumbled angrily as Kate's face lit up, "You can come! But you do exactly as I tell you to do".

"Of course" Kate nodded seriously.

"I mean it Kate" Gibbs waved a reproachful finger in her face, "Let's be very clear on this. You put so much as a toe out of line whilst we're out there, and I'll have your badge so fast you won't see me coming. And once you're a civilian again, I'll have you placed under protective custody, against your will if need be. Am I clear?"

Kate swallowed hard, knowing Gibbs wasn't bluffing.

"Crystal" she affirmed.

"Good" Gibbs' lips pulled into a dark smirk, "Now gear up".

Kate nodded, hurrying over to her own desk and loading and strapping on her own weapon. She just hoped she wouldn't be needing it.

Moments later, she and Gibbs were rushing out of the squad room, both equally determined to locate Ducky, drag him back to headquarters, and chew him out for causing everyone so much worry.

Abby and McGee watched them go, both looked very anxious.

"For nobody leaving the building, there are a lot of people leaving the building" Abby couldn't help but remark nervously, McGee nodding in silent agreement.

She just prayed that all of them would return alive.

Meanwhile, across town, the Embasero Hotel found itself playing host to one very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo, albeit unbeknownst to them. Tony had snuck into the hotel as he followed after Ziva, wanting to get inside and out of the pouring rain that had started falling from the heavens.

He was most certainly glad that he'd decided to do so, rather then wait for his target to come back outside. He wouldn't have missed this for the whole world.

The special agent couldn't help but smirk as he peered through a small window in a door looking out across one of the Embasero's swimming pools. Tony knew he shouldn't be sporting such a wolfish grin on his face - not without coming across like some kind of pervert after all - but he just couldn't help it.

Swimming in the pool was one lone occupant. That occupant was Ziva David.

And God did she look smoking in that bathing suit.

It left very little to the imagination.

Tony quickly shook those thoughts out of his head before he could get too distracted - not to mention horny - due to them. Distractions were not an option right now. Not with that lunatic Ari Haswari still on the loose out there.

Multiple shivers ran down his spine at the thought of what Gibbs would do to him if he accidently gave Ari the advantage whilst he was too preoccupied with Ziva. Most scenarios would probably end with him being fired, then shot, then fired again. Hardly a pleasant thought.

Not to mention the fact that if by some miracle Gibbs didn't kill him, well... Kate would never let him hear the end of it.

Kate was quickly coming to regret her decision of talking Gibbs into allowing her to come along with him. Not only had it started raining again, this time much heavier than before, but her nerves were slowly starting to fray and spiral out of control.

Ari was still out there, possibly having abducted Ducky or Gerald or both of them, again, and they were about to face him down once more.

This man had threatened her, held her hostage, hurt her friends, abducted her off the street, and had tried to murder her just a few hours prior.

Needless to say, Kate was feeling beyond nervous right now.

Still, she steeled her nerves as Gibbs pulled the car they were in over to the side of the street. Kate had asked to be there so damn it she was going to put her anxiety aside and focus on doing her job.

Ducky and Gerald might be depending on them, and Kate would be damned if she would let them down.

Getting out of the car, Kate and Gibbs were both thoroughly soaked in a matter of seconds. Looking around warily, Kate saw... well, nothing.

No Ducky.

No Gerald.

And most importantly, no Ari.

Kate's eyes instinctively flew up to the rooves of the surrounding residential buildings, worried that perhaps Ari was going back to his sniper tactics. They had very nearly worked earlier in the day after all. It really was down to a pure miracle that he'd failed, and that Kate still lived.

Much to her relief, Kate saw nothing out of the ordinary, but she was painfully aware that when it came to snipers, that meant precious little.

Gibbs, also seeing nothing wrong, grunted in annoyance as he pulled out his cell phone and dialed McGee's phone back at NCIS headquarters. Kate stepped over to him, prompting him to put his cell phone on loudspeaker.

"Special Agent McGee" McGee's voice said over the line as he answered the phone.

"Where are they now?" Gibbs asked without any preamble.

"Same place, Boss" McGee's voice reported, "Olive and Twenty ninth".

"Well we're there right now McGee, and I can assure you that neither Ducky nor Gerald are here" Kate told him sarcastically, "There's just rain - lots of it - and an empty street".

"I don't understand" McGee's voice sounded confused, "They should be there".

"Can you pull up a GPS fix on my cell phone McGee?" Kate requested, getting an idea, "If you can, you can guide us to where Ducky and Gerald are meant to be".

"Good idea, doing it now" McGee's voice replied.

Kate and Gibbs both waited anxiously for him to get the trace done. They just wanted to find Ducky and Gerald, both praying that the two of them were alright.

"Okay" McGee's voice said after a few moments of silence, "You need to go a few yards further down the street, then cross over the road".

Kate and Gibbs shared a worried look before following his directions.

Hurrying across the road, the two agents found themselves standing in some bushes. Peeling her wet hair whilst had plastered itself across her face out of the way, Kate looked through the trees to see that they were standing right at the edge of a small park. There didn't appear to be anyone in the park, but it was so dark and the rain was so thick it was hard for her to be sure.

"You're right on top of them!" McGee's voice exclaimed from Gibbs' phone.

Kate and Gibbs both looked around in confusion. Neither Ducky nor Gerald were anywhere in sight. Neither was Ari for that matter, although Kate wasn't sure whether or not to be pleased about that.

"Damn it, McGee!" Gibbs yelled into the phone, "They are not here!"

"They have to be, Boss" McGee's voice stammered back.

"Gibbs" Abby's voice broke in over the line, "Is there a pub?"

"No!" Gibbs snapped back, "There is no pub! No people - there are no cars!"

"He's right, it's like a ghost town" Kate added grimly, looking around nervously, "There's no sign of Ducky or Gerald anywhere".

"Okay, I was just checking" Abby's voice said sadly.

"How accurate is the GPS fix on my phone, McGee?" Kate couldn't help but ask.

"Within twenty five meters" McGee's voice replied.

Kate and Gibbs shared a confused glance.

Where the hell were they?

"DUCKY!" Kate suddenly bellowed over the howling storm, making Gibbs jump in surprise, "GERALD! YOU GUYS THERE?!"

"Jesus Kate" Gibbs winced, covering his ears.

"Sorry" Kate muttered bashfully, "Just thought I'd try".

"Well don't do it again" Gibbs growled at her seriously, "What if Ari's the one to answer you?"

Kate swallowed hard. She hadn't considered the possibility that maybe she would be giving away their position to that homicidal maniac by screaming so loudly. She was just so worried about Ducky and Gerald. Both of whom were still nowhere to be found.

Oh god... were they already too late?

"It's going to happen again, isn't it?" Kate whispered in dread, eyes wide with panic, "Ducky or Gerald or both of them are going to take a bullet because of Ari... because we haven't stopped him yet".

A tear that was quickly lost in the rain ran down Kate's cheek at the horrible thought.

"No" Gibbs shook his head firmly, "He won't kill Ducky or Gerald".

"What make you so sure Gibbs?" Kate asked, anxious but genuinely curious, "Because you couldn't live with the guilt?"

"No, because he knows that I'd never allow him to get away with it" Gibbs reminded her sternly.

Kate wasn't so convinced.

"But maybe Ari knows that" she grimly pointed out to him, "Maybe that's his plan. He's clearly doing this just to get to you Gibbs".

"What's your point Kate?" he asked warily.

"My point is that we need to end this, right now Gibbs" Kate told him bluntly, "You and I both need to figure out his next move. It might be the only way to save Tony, Ducky, Abby, and McGee".

Gibbs swallowed hard, knowing that she was right. If he had any chance at saving anyone on his team from this maniac, Ari Haswari needed to be put down once and for all.

It was time to make it happen.

And there's another one : )

Kate really wants to be the one to bring Ari down, huh? After everything Ari's done to her though, it's understandable why she wants him dead so badly. I can't wait to finally get to that scene in the basement ; )

Anyway, thank you so much for reading and please consider leaving a review as they really do make my day and motivate me to try and get more chapters up quicker : )

Until the next time, keep on reading : )